A U.S. District Judge in California on Tuesday ruled against the Biden Administration’s restrictions for migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Biden Administration had begun the policy in May, which denies asylum to migrants who show up at the border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through.
It was credited in part for a plunge in the number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization last month, counter to fears of a surge following the rescinding of Title 42, the pandemic-era health policy that allowed for expulsions of migrants at the border.
U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Oakland concluded that the policy violates U.S. asylum law first established in 1980. It dictates that any migrant on U.S. soil who requests humanitarian protection be allowed asylum regardless of how they entered the country.
The judge did suspend the ruling for two weeks in order to giver the Department of Justice time to seek relief from a higher court.
Tigar had blocked an even more restrictive asylum policy during the Trump Administration.
Lawsuits against both the Biden and Trump asylum policies were brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which said the asylum restrictions were endangering refugees.
In January Customs and Border Patrol did establish an app for migrants seeking asylum in advance of the new restrictions. By using the app CBP One to secure appointments, more than 38,000 migrants were authorized to enter the U.S. along border ports in June.
